Cancer Research - the light ahead
Scientific research that is progressing in leaps and bounds will soon change the face of cancer. In this scenario, traditional cancer classification techniques - the size, shape and location of tumours - will fall by the wayside and be replaced by a 'molecular perspective'. Cancer will be identified not by the site, like cervical cancer or breast cancer, but by its molecular defects. This will enable treatment to go with the patient's tumour type rather than its location.
This is possible as scientists are now equipped, through headway in molecular biology and computer science, to delve into the genetic complexity of cancer. Now oncologists are primarily concerned with catching the cancer early, when there's more chance of treating it. However, the scanning technologies used for detecting cancer early are not 100 per cent effective. As cancer moves about the body, it leaves a residue of genes and proteins that are different from that left behind by normal cells. Unravelling this molecular trail of cancer can help detect the disease much before it becomes visible.
The results of these investigations, especially studying the molecular signatures, will help doctors find out which tumours are dangerous and which need treatment.
One group of researchers in the US believes that molecular profiling could radically change breast cancer treatment. Right now, nearly all women with breast cancer are put on chemotherapy after surgery to prevent cancer from spreading. Some of them may not need it but there is no mechanism that can tell who needs it and who doesn't. With molecular profiling, it would be possible to say which tumours are dangerous and who needs treatment.
Molecular profiling will also help scientists devise therapies that hit the most vulnerable spot in the tumour. It looks like a new dawn in the treatment of cancer.
Questions a cancer patient can ask the doctor
- What is my diagnosis?
- What is the stage of my disease?
- What are my options for treatment?Which one do you recommend for me?Why?
- What are chances that the treatment will be successful?
- Would a clinical trial be appropriate for me?
- What are the risks and possible side effects of each treatment?
- How long will treatment last?
- Will I have to change my normal activities?
- What is the treatment likely to cost?
Glossary
Antioxidants - Substances, which in small amounts will inhibit the oxidation of other compounds.
Autologous tissue - During breast reconstruction, the tissue that is taken from the patient's body.
Benign - Not cancerous; does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body.
Biological Therapy - Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease. Also known as immunotherapy, biotherapy, or Biological Response Modifier (BRM) therapy.
Buccal Mucosa - Pertaining to the mouth, especially the inner lining of the cheeks.
Carcinogens - Certain chemicals which cause cancer by altering the genetic make-up of the cells.
Chemotherapy - Is a systemic treatment in which chemical substances or drugs are injected into the vein or muscle to kill cancer cells.
Endometrial Cancer - Cancer which occurs within the Uterus.
Lumpectomy - Removal of tumourous lump.
Lymphoma - Malignant tumours of the lymph nodes.
Lymphatic System - The tissues and organs that produce, store, and carry white blood cells that fight infection and other diseases. This system includes the bone marrow, spleen, thymus, lymph nodes, and network of thin tubes that carry lymph and white blood cells. These tubes branch, like blood vessels, into all the tissues of the body.
Malignant - Cancerous; spread into the surrounding tissues.
Mammogram - An X-ray of the breasts that can detect tumours in the breast much before they are big enough to be felt by hand.
Mastectomy - Removal of the breast.
Metastasis - Transfer of disease from one organ or part of the body to another, the causative agent having been conveyed by the blood or lymph.
Oncology - Field of knowledge regarding tumours.
Pap Smear Test - Screening test for cervical cancer which detects cancers early and spots precancerous conditions. Also called the Pap Test this procedure involves a few cells being scrapped off the cervix, put on a microscope slide, dyed and examined.
Radiotherapy - A treatment modality for cancer which uses high energy rays that are trained on the cancer cells to stop them from growing and multiplying.
By-Dr.Sunil Shroff, Dr.Rashmi
Careers